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The angry black woman

When I read how black women are described online and when I hear people’s opinions about us, it makes me sick. I feel like us as black women have to go an extra mile when it comes to proving to the world that we do not let our emotions get in the way of the decisions we make. I also feel like we are not allowed to be upset about something without being judged and to me, this is a problem.

I am a black woman, and I am not angry. But I do believe I have a right to be angry by times and I shouldn’t be feared for that. When people finally get to know you, they realize (and tell you) that “after all, you’re not as angry as you look”. And when such judgemental things about me come out of their mouth, I either choose to remain silent, or I answer “you see what you allow your mind to see”. Often times they don’t understand what I mean, and I don’t mind it because it just proves my point.

Society obeys to the laws of prejudice and they’re trying to make it look like it’s normal. I may sound angry (which I am not), but this is a mild, but an actual form of racism. I don’t understand how we’ve come to this point where it is acceptable for others to disrespect us and be openly racist and we do not respond, nor do we act upon it. This is sad, especially when we think about what our ancestors had to go through for us to be able to live the life that we live now. I don’t buy into the whole “you’re lucky to be educated and be where you are, so shut up and live” unspoken speech we get through looks when we decide to take a stand. I think there’s still a lot that needs to be done and it starts in the mind. It starts with education. It starts with dealing with the prejudice that states that black women are angry women.